Debate on Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulation Rages On

Debate on Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulation Rages On

By John O'Dell October 28, 2009

Automakers, Green Groups Debate Standards, California's Role at Los Angeles Hearing

By Danny King, Contributor

California's efforts to continue imposing more stringent greenhouse gas standards than federal rules require continued coming under fire from industry groups Tuesday as the Environmental Protection Agency held the last of three hearings on implementing proposed national standards for average passenger vehicle fuel economy.

Ford, Toyota, the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers and the Sierra Club were among the groups whose representatives offered a wide range of opinions during the day-long meeting in Los Angeles.

Federal officials are trying to determine how best to reach gas mileage and tailpipe-emissions standards within the next seven years that are about 30% more stringent than they are now.

California, which has authority to set its own standards, is in agreement with the federal proposals through 2016 but already has started working on tougher state standards for 2017 and beyond - a move that automakers oppose, claiming that separate state and federal rules will impose severe economic hardships on an already beleaguered industry.

Looking Forward

So while Tuesday's hearing ostensibly was about present regulations, many in the audience were more concerned with what happens eight years from now.

The prospect of dual state and federal standards being imposed in 2017 is a critical issue, even if it's almost a decade away, said Michael Stanton, whose Association of International Automobile Manufacturers trade group includes Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

"We know you don't want to hear this but we want to hear about 2017 and beyond as soon as this is put to bed," Stanton said at the hearing.

Stanton, AIAM's president and chief executive officer, and Robert Bienenfeld, American Honda Motor Co. energy and environment strategies manager, both lobbied against letting California establish a set of standards separate from the federal government's.

Federal law allows other states to opt to follow California emission rules rather than federal requirements, and more than a dozen with large populations already have, affecting a big chunk of the national auto market.

Dual Standards Debate

"No individual state nor loose affiliation of states are more suitable to address these issues than the federal government," said Bienenfeld.

Should California be granted a waiver to apply its own tailpipe and mileage standards starting in 2017, as it  does now, he testified, "we are on our way towards a regulatory mess."

But California has by far the largest number of registered vehicles of any state and some of the worst air-quality issues in the country. It should have the right to apply its own, more stringent standards starting in 2017, argued state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) and Darrell Clarke, chairman of the Sierra Club's Angeles Chapter.

"The EPA-NHTSA standards are a  way station" on the road to cleaner air, Clarke said in an interview with Green Car Advisor. "After 2017, we'd like the right to lead the way."

The hearings, including those held in Detroit and New York last week, are part of an effort by the EPA and NHTSA to issue  rules intended to reflect a coordinated approach to implementing the federal Clean Air Act and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.

CAFE Rules Accelerated

Rules related to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for the 2012 through 2016 model years are  expected to be concluded by the end of next March.

Because greenhouse gases are a direct result of the amount of carbon-based fuels - like gasoline and diesel - that are burned in internal combustion engines - setting tougher fuel economy standards is the principal method of reducing emissions of the gases, which are linked to global warming.

President Obama in May bumped the CAFE deadline for reaching the federal fuel efficiency standard of 35.5 mpg to 2016 from the 2020 deadline imposed two years ago. While the standard translates to a 27 mpg EPA rating, as seen of new-car window stickers, it still represents about a 30% gas-mileage improvement from today's average for passenger vehicles.

In June, the Obama administration granted California a waiver allowing it to immediately invoke its tougher-than-federal greenhouse-gas emissions standards instead of waiting for the federal standards to kick in for the 2012 model year.

California regulators, whose efforts to enact their own automotive greenhouse gas emissions regulations were blocked by former President George W. Bush, have been pushing for an extension of state tailpipe standards beyond 2016.

'Zero Emissions' Misleading

Hearing participants on Tuesday debated issues such as how to accurately measure emissions levels from so-called "zero-emissions" vehicles such as battery-electric cars; whether car makers should be given a mileage credit for flex-fuel vehicles that can run on 85 percent ethanol; and whether specialty automakers with gas-guzzling exotics in their lineups - companies such as Aston Martin and McLaren Automotive - should be given more time than larger companies to comply with federal standards.

While Bienenfeld and California regional air regulator Paul Wuebben differed on the state's right to establish standards that are tougher than the federal government's starting in 2017, they agreed that the EPA's decision to assign a zero emissions rating for electric vehicle is misleading because it doesn't take into account emissions from electricity producers, many of which burn coal.

"Ignoring upstream emissions [from power plants] risks damaging the credibility" of the EPA and NHTSA standards, said Wuebben, clean fuels officer for the South Coast air Quality Management District, which oversees the Greater Los Angeles Basin area.

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.